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Jeremy’s WWE NXT Review 5.24.22

May 24, 2022 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
WWE NXT 5-24-22. Image Credit: WWE
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Jeremy’s WWE NXT Review 5.24.22  

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Hello NXT people. It’s Tuesday evening, which means it’s time for another episode of WWE NXT. I’m Jeremy Thomas, here as always, and before we get started I just wanna say that I hope you and yours are all doing well. It’s been a real shit day in the US today, and I hope you all are taking care of yourselves. That’s all I have to say about that.

Anyway, tonight we continue down the road to NXT In Your House with Indi Hartwell battling Mandy Rose, Alba Fyre and Elektra Lopez facing off, Duke Hudson vs. Bron Breaker, Ikemen Jiro’s ill-fated decision to face Von Wagner, and more.

Here in Thomas Central, I’ve been VERY busy on the movie-watching front. My Marilyn Monroe watch project saw me see six films of varying quality: the stellar film noir Niagara and the the not-really-a-complete-movie that was Something’s Got to Give, as well as several films in which she had smaller roles: the decent boxing rom-daoma Right Cross and anthology romcom We’re Not Married!, , and the far less good The Fireball and Dangerous Years.

Outside of those, I did a rewatch of the underrated Evil Dead remake, saw the surprisingly fun Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers on Disney+, the merely okay rage zombie film Virus:32 on Shudder, and the glorious Robert Eggers film The Northman. Finally, I watched Sonic the Hedgehog 2 which was as perfectly fine as its predecessor.

Anyway, we’re gonna have a lot to cover tonight so let’s hop right in.

As a reminder, the GoFundMe for Larry’s daughters is still active and if you can make a donation, that would be awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who’s done so thus far.

* We start with Tony D and his goons Stacks and Two Dimes saying that Legado couldn’t handle things like men last week, and Santos Escobar had to hit him with brass knucks. Tony says this isn’t over and what Stacks and Two Dimes do to Edris and Malik is only a sample of what Legado will face. They walk off and Santos walks in behind them with a big smile.

Edris Enofe & Malik Blade vs. Stacks & Two Dimes

Bell rings and Stacks attacks Edris right at the bell. He beats him into the hostile corner and tags in Two Dimes, double shoulder block off the ropes and a cover for one. Dimes with a bodyslam, cover for another one. Stacks tags back in and kicks Edris, sends him into the ropes, Edris with a waistlock, Stacks escapes and comes off the ropes into a dropkick. Blade tags in and they hit a double back suplex on Stacks, cover for two.

Blade with a shoulder lock, Stacks powers out but gets taken down, big dropkick and Edris tags in. They do some tandem offense that ends with a 619 in the corner. Tony distracts Edris and Stacks knocks him off the apron. Dimes tags in and throws Edris into the apron, then enters the ring. Irish whip hard into the hostile corner, then an overhand forearm before Stacks tags in and locks in a seated abdominal stretch.

Santos and Legado are heading to the ring as Edris tries to get free of the hold and gets a knee to the side. Big slap by Dimes, and Edris starts firing back. They’re trading blows, back elbow by Edris and a springboard high knee. Malik tags in (so does Stacks), slips on the top rope but he recovers and knocks Dimes out of the ring. Big shot to Stacks, flying crossbody and a cover for two. Backslide by Blade for two, sunset flip for two and a legdrop.

Dimes knocks Edris off the apron as a distraction, Stacks then drops Malik. Santos and Legado are out there, double shot to Malik and a stereo kick, that gets the pin.

Winner: Stacks and Two Dimes (6:10)
Rating: **
Thoughts: Not a great start. The Goon Squad are pretty basic in the ring and Enofe and Blade didn’t deliver their best work. It was an atypically-lackluster start to the show.

Tony D tells Legado to get in there and they can do this, so a brawl breaks out as referees come out to separate them.

* McKenzie is backstage with Wes Lee who is wrapped up after Wagner’s attack. She asks him about his taking issue with Sanga last week and he says he was on pure adrenaline at the time, but he doesn’t think he was wrong. He only saw disrespect and McKenzie says she doesn’t think Sanga meant any disrespect. Lee says he has to do this to prove to guys like Sanga and especially himself that he can do this.

Wes Lee vs. Sanga

Lee with a waistlock, which Sanga turns into a bear hug but Lee flips over. Sanga grabs him, pushes him into the corner and then chucks him all the way across the ring! Headbutt to the back of Lee, he pushes Lee into the ropes and knocks him down, then does a boot choke by stepping over the ropes.

Sanga to the outside and he manhandles Lee, laying into him with overhead hammer blows. Back into the ring and Lee with a dopkick to the knee. He gets up and goes into the ropes, right into a kneelift. Waistlock by Sanga, Lee elbows his way out and kicks at Sanga’s leg. Lee is fighting hard and staggers Sanga, he comes into the ropes and hits a cannonball senton to a standing Sanga, knocking him to the outside. Kicks through the ropes and a double stomp over the ropes to the outside!

Running dropkick sends Sanga to a knee. Lee is on the apron and gets SWATTED down by Sanga. Back into the ring, Lee with an enzuigiri and a dropkick to the back. He goes up top, leaps but Sanga moves and hits a big clothesline. He grabs Lee by the throat, choke slam and that’s it.

Winner: Sanga (3:51)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: They tries to book this like it wasn’t a squash, but it was. It was an effectively solid match though, especially for four minutes since Lee did all the work and bumped his ass off for Sanga, making Sanga look like a beast in the process while selling Lee’s fighting spirit.

After the match, Xyon Quinn enters the ring and takes his shades off. He talks trash to a hurt Lee — and Sanga comes in to intervene! Quinn backs off and Sanga and Lee have a good moment.

* Cora Jade talks up Roxanne Perez backstage for her match. Perez says that Lash is twice her side, and Cora Jade recalls a time on the indies when Perez took it to a bully. Perez says that after the match, Cora hit Jenna Waters with a skateboard. Cora says she’s going to watch Elektra Lopez’s match with Alba Fyre from the crowd next.

* Earlier today, Bron was told by a couple guys that Joe Gacy was seen walking into his locker room. He busts in and sees a old photo of his family from 20 years ago.

Elektra Lopez vs. Alba Fyre

Lockup by these two to start and they hit the mat, rolling all the way out of the ring as Cora Jade looks on eating popcorn. Lopez knocks Fyre into the apron and rolls her in, taking a shot at her but Fyre sends her into the ropes for a dropkick. Rolling somersault into a shot and she continues to strike, but Lopez blocks it and wraps Fyre up in a wristlock before sending her shoulder-first into the corner.

Lopez is briefly distracted by Jade on the outside and Fyre giires off a shot, but Lopez takes back over. Lopez with a kick in the corner, Fyre avoids it and takes over but she can’t hit the Gory Bomb due to the focus on her shoulder and Lopez knocks Fyre down. Fyre comes back, big kick and a headbutt. Fyre goes up top, she hits a bit Swanton, cover for three.

Winner: Alba Fyre (2:53)
Rating: N/A
Thoughts: Surprising squash of Lopez, and Jade didn’t even get involved.

After the match, Lopez knocks the popcorn out of Cora’s hand and talks trash.

* Damon Kemp is on the phone with someone as the Creeds come in. Kemp says Roddy rolled his ankle and the match is off. Julius says Strong’s ankle better be hanging by a thread because Diamond Mine doesn’t let injury hold them back. Nile says it’s the Diamond Mine way. Kemp says he’s just there to earn his way and will go check on Strong.

* McKenzie says Nikkita Lyons has been injured, which means Fallon Henley is headed to the finals. Briggs jokes about Jensen’s hand injury and Tiffany Stratton says that Fallon is taking the easy road. Fallon tells Tiffany to get the match made and she’ll do it.

Women’s NXT Breakout Tournament Semifinal Match
Roxanne Perez vs. Lash Legend

Perez dodges Legend to start but gets grabbed and thrown. Perez lands on her feet and hits a waistlock, she gets knocked down but tries to trip Legend up. Legend with a inverted facelock into a slam, she covers for two.

Legend with an over-the-shoulder backbreaker submission, Perez slips out but gets dropped. Legend with a hanging double underhook backbreaker, another nearfall. Legend chokes Perez against the ropes, then picks her up for the backbreaker submission again but Perez slips into a sleeper on Lash! Lash is fading but backs Perez into the corner to break it.

Kick to Legend in the corner, dropkick, then kicks and finally a forearm off the ropes to take Lash down. She hits some mounted punches, then splashes Lash in toe corner. Legend grabs Perez and spins her around, then smacks her down. She picks Perez up for a powerbomb, but Perez with Pop Rocks for the pin!

Winner: Roxanne Perez (3:19)
Rating: ** 1/4
Thoughts: Perfectly fine match for three minutes. Lash continues to improve and Perez looks like the favorite with Nikkita and Lash out.

* Mandy and TA are backstage. Mandy says Indi calling her out was the worst decision of her career. They mock Indi for trying to go it alone when Kayden Carter and Katana Chance attack Gigi and Jacy! Officials are out to break it up and Mandy has to go to her match as we go to break.

Indi Hartwell vs. Mandy Rose

Headlock by Mandy to start, shot into the ropes and hit with a shoulderblock. Hartwell begins to pummel Rose’s shoulder until Rose turns it around, knocks Indi over and covers for one. Rose gets Indi back up and begins working on her shoulder, then sends her into the corner and charges in with a kick to the head. Snapmare, kick to the back, cover for two.

Indi sent into the turnbuckle and Mandy kicks away at her, then hits a could shoulder thrusts to the torso. Irish whip reversed, Indi gets Mandy on her shoulder and drops her onto the turnbuckle, then drops Mandy twice and hits a sidewalk slam for two. Rose quickly slides outside as we go to PIP break.

We’re back with Indi in an abdominal stretch by Mandy. She powers out and hiptosses Mandy, but Mandy manages to slide out of a lift and nails Indi with a shot to the head, cover for two. Mandy talks trash to Indi’s face and shoves her down, but eats a fist. They trade shots, Indi with a clothesline and another. She catches Mandy’s foot and yanks her down. Rose up on Indi’s shoulder but she counters out. Indi right back up, kick through the apron as Mandy tried to go outside and a cover for two.

Rose with a jawbreaker to Indi and a kick to the knee, rollup for two. Hartwell with a big spinebuster for a nearfall. And here come Gigi and Jacy, but Kayden and Katana cut them off. They brawl on the outside, with Jacy coming in. Indi drops Jacy but turns around into a pump kick by Mandy for three.

Winner: Mandy Rose (9:18)
Rating: ** 1/4
Thoughts: Not a great match. These two just didn’t work all that well together and the match felt like it was moving at about 80% speed. Both have done and are capable of better.

The tag teams brawl their way through the crowd as Wandy smashes Mandy with her pillow bag, then empties it of its balls and poses with the title.

* McKenzie is backstage with Bron and asks if Gacy is getting to him. Bron says it was creepy at first but there’s nothing Gacy can do to throw him off his focus. The Tron suddenly shows a clip from Bron’s high school football career of running an 80 yard touchdown that his dad wasn’t there to see. He looks dejected.

* Pretty Deadly mock Diamond Mind after Roderick Strong came up with a lame-o injury. They talk about how they tore up the Diamond Mine’s locker room way back when and say they won’t be ready for the title match at In Your House. They talk themselves up with lots of “Yes Boi” additions.

Women’s NXT Breakout Tournament Semifinal Match
Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley

Lockup to start, headlock by Fallon countered out by Stratton. She backsprings away but gets caught with another headlock. They trade slaps to the sternum, Henley off the ropes and runs Stratton over. Henley catches Stratton with a shot after the latter leapfrogs, they trade some shots and Henley takes control, knocks Stratton into the bottom rope and slides out for an uppercut.

Henley steps back into the ring but gets caught by Stratton, who snaps her leg into the ropes. She begins to kick at Henley’s leg, then hits a springboard senton and covers for two.

Stratton grabs the ankle and slams the knee down, then hits a sunset flip. Henley stays standing but Stratton chop blocks the leg. Handspring elbow in the corner, double stomp off the ropes and a cover for two. She goes right back to the leg, locking in a toehold and bridging back until Henley slaps Stratton in the stomach.

Stratton manhandles Henley, but Henley knocks Stratton down. Clothesline followed by chops, she hits a facebuster and then a back bodydrop. Big right hand from Henley, she backs up and goes to charge but her knee gives out. Stratton with a big swinging double dropkick, twisting Vader bomb finishes it.

Winner: Tiffany Stratton (5:00)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: With Perez in the finals, Stratton was the obvious choice so they didn’t go face vs. face. As a match this was pretty solid considering the time given, and I think Stratton has a lot of potential.

Grayson Waller celebrates with Stratton after the match.

* McKenzie is backstage with Kayden and Katana. Katana says they told everyone to stop mistaking kindness with weakness and TA kept dodging them, so they took it to them. Kayden says that if they want to do anything about it, they can go to IYH and put their titles on the line. Wendy Choo walks in and talks about hitting Mandy, saying that she’s laying out the challenge to Rose for IYH.

* We get a vignette of Von Wagner’s path of destruction through Ikemen Jiro, Brooks Jensen, and Wes Lee.

* We get a new vignette with the woman who makes me feel ridiculously old, Thea Hail, talking about how she’s graduating tomorrow and will have a difficult time managing training and going to school. She will apparently make her decision of which college to choose next week.

* Bronson is backstage and Duke Hudson walks up, noting he didn’t do any of the mind gamnes. Bronson knows. Hudson says that he also is ready for tonight and doesn’t care of Bronson has daddy issues. Bronson gets pissed and slams Hudson up against a locker, and Hudson says Gacy was right about him.

Von Wagner vs. Ikemen Jiro

Jiro rushes right in and takes Wagner down, Wagner hits a weak powerbomb that Jiro almost fights out of. Wagner with a big powerslam and then elbow drops to the back. Wagner beats on Jiro in the corner, then picks him up for a back suplex, cover for two.

Wagner lies in wait and charges in, but Jiro dodges and dropkicks Wagner in the knee. He gets sent into the ropes but gets his boot up, goes up top but Jiro pulls him off the rope to the floor. Waistlock by Wagner, Jiro to his feet but gets picked up and dropped right back down. Jiro fights back to his feet again and hits back elbows but gets dropped by Wagner.

Jiro to the apron, he nails Wagner with a big kick and hits a springboard crossbody. WHipped into the ropes, he goes for a handspring back elbow but gets caught. He goes down to the back, sends Wagner to the outside and then dives out onto him! Jiro rolls Wagner in and climps up, leaping DDT and a cover for two.

Wagner ripes Jiro down to the mat, pulls his jacket over his head and nails him repeatedly. Jiro up on Wagner’s shoulders, big slam and cover for three.

Winner: Von Wagner (4:19)
Rating: ** 1/4
Thoughts: Wagner continues to be Wagner, and he continues to deliver dull matches as he runs through people. Jiro was good here but was cannon fodder.

After the match, Sofia Cromwell is on the ramp and points to the announcers. Wagner goes to throw Jiro to the announcers but Josh Briggs is in there and saves him.

* Tony D is with his goons and says this thing with Legado has gone too far and it needs to end with a Turf War at IYH. He’s demanding a meeting and he’ll go to Santos. Stacks and Two Dimes aren’t so sure, but Tony says he’ll make Santos an offer he can’t refuse.

* Robert Stone is ranting about Josh Briggs and says that Jiro is done, but with everyone else they need a game plan. Sofia says that if you want to get ahead in NXT you need to ruffle feathers and Von can handle anything in his way. She leaves and Von says she’s right.

* Mandy Rose interrupts Vic Joseph to say that she’s done with Wendy Choo. The thought of Wendy touching, much less carrying the title, makes her want to puke over Choo’s onesie. Jacy chimes in and says Kayden and Katana can’t compare to them and they’ll send the two back to the rest of the Oompa Loompa at IYH. Gigi says that everyone is jealous of the fact that TA rose as fast as they did. So next week they’re going to make it official.

* We go to the Barber Shop with Carmelo and Trick. Melo says he needs to get his NA Title back by any means necessary. He’s not walking the same, talking the same since he lost the title. Trick says he has a game plan and says Grimes is just a substitute. Grimes then walks into the Barber Shop and says he’s just there to talk man to man, eye to eye. He says last week after he and Solo crushed them, Melo said something about him being lucky. Melo says he was lucky and doesn’t deserve the title, he doesn’t hold it or rock it the way he did. And he’s sure as hell not the A Champion. Grimes says maybe he doesn’t deserve it, but he earned it. Grimes says Nathan Frazer arrived and people are saying that Frazer might be better and faster, so he’s facing Frazer next week.

* Joe Gacy is backstage with his druids and say they’ve done a fabulous job and are getting to Bron. And with tonight’s match, they’ll make sure of it.

* We get a vignette in Italian about how time is the most valuable currency in life and why not live in the fast lane? Style is a way to speak without saying a world, fashion is a representation of who you are. Dreams are for dreamers, goals are for achievers. Giovanni Vinci, coming soon.

Next week on NXT
– Women’s Championship Summit
– Cameron Grimes vs. Nathan Frazer
– Cora Jade vs. Elektra Lopez

Bron Breakker vs. Duke Hudson

Gacy and his druids are watching from the platform, drawing Bron’s attention. Lockup and Hudson backs Breakker into the ropes, hitting a kneelift. Bron with a waistlock, Duke elbows out but gets bodyslamed down. Frankensteiner off the ropes and an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Hudson gets a shot in and lays in his fists, he snaps Bron off the ropes and covers for two.

Mounted punches by Hudson and a kick to the back, Irish whip reversed by Brown and he comes off the ropes to catch Hudson with an alligator roll, picks him up and suplexes him down. Kippup and Hudson bails to the outside. Bron follows but gets hit with a BIG clothesline. Hudson rolls Bron back in, covers for two.

Overhead belly-to-belly by Duke, who mocks Bron with barks and kicks at his head. Bron fires back but gets stomped down. Bron fires back but Hudson stops him and hits a chop in the corner, whip into the corner and Duke charges in but Bron gets the foot up. They go into the ropes and take each other down as we go to PIP break.

We’re back with Breakker fighting back against Hudson from a seat on the top rope. They trade shots as Gacy and his goons walk around the ring. Breakker knocks Hudson off the top but Hudson grabs Bron and chucks him INTO the top rope! Breakker slips over to the outside. Hudson grabs Bron and throws him into the steel steps, then rolls him in and stomps him a few times before laying in mounted haymakers. Cover for two.

Hudson with forearms to Bron and tries to go for a Steiner Recliner, but Breaker counters and sends Hudson to the mat. Bron goes for his own Recliner, countered by Hudson. Hudson goes for a Razor’s Edge, but countered by a back bodydrop. Bron runs over Hudson then comes off the ropes hit hit a powerslam! The straps are down! Bron clotheslines Hudson over the ropes and goes over with, right to where the cultists are! He ignores them and rolls Hudson in, the cultists charge and Breakker takes them out. Hudson got a chair, Bron takes him down and he gets the chair. He swings on the cultists, swings on Gacy, then Hudson grabs him from behind and gets nailed for the DQ.

Winner: Bron Breakker (11:01)
Rating: ** 3/4
Thoughts: This was overbooked not not necessarily in a bad way. The story was solid in concept and it was executed decently enough to boot. Breakker and Hudson didn’t get too far out of second gear but it worked fine for a main event of an otherwise enh show.

And with that, we’re done for the night!

5.0
The final score: review Not So Good
The 411
This wasn't the worst episode of NXT we've seen, but man was it lackluster. The wrestling lacked the shine of recent episodes and the storyline beats were just kind of there. I don't think the Gacy vs. Breakker feud is awful, but it's far from great and outside of the NXT Breakout Tournament there's nothing that is incredibly engaging. Just a very mediocre show all in all.
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WWE NXT, Jeremy Thomas